I have received your letter and hasten to reply. I simply
cannot understand why you fell out, and what the
point
is.[1] I don’t see why not sell 20–30 copies of Zarya and
why this should be “running ahead of things”. I should
think this was the kind of routine matter in forwarding
that could be left entirely to the manager of the forwarding
section, i.e., to you. I am writing this very day to Martyn
Nikolayevich asking him to try and clear up the
misunderstanding. You shouldn’t be too much upset about
individual expressions, even sharp ones, even unfair ones. You
see, surely, that we are all very edgy—the cause of it all
is the rotten situation created by the new traitors in the
C.C. Maybe we shall now soon put an end to all this, once
and for all, and make a fresh start—then the basis for petty
conflicts will disappear. In the meantime, we must try
and see it through patiently, and I would reply to caustic
remarks by jokes about “the deadly
destroyer”.[2] I quite
understand your irritation, but joking seems to be the only
answer. If a dispute arises, drag out its solution, write
to us here, that’s all you should do. Please take all possible
steps to accelerate the appearance of

How is Ilya? He visited me yesterday, I told him what
was in
hand,[4] but he still can’t make up his mind. Has
he been given my
(1) letter on the subject of the agreement
of 26.5.04[5];
(2) protest against the C.C.
declaration,[6]
and
(3) letter about the
protest[7]? It is absolutely essentialthat he and all the compositors read this; don’t delay with
this.

Have matters been arranged about the co-operative
printing
press[8]? Hurry.

Ilya says there is a rumour that Glebov has a letter of
resignation from Travinsky. We shall look into it and
check.

They’re a nice lot, aren’t they? Five and four are
arguing; two of the five resign; two of the four are taken—
then the three, instead of resigning, stage a coup
d’état[9]!

Notes

[2]The meaning of the words is not quite clear, but judging by the
context, they apparently refer to M. N. Lyadov.

[3]The Bolshevik literature and documents mentioned here include: =
1) a pamphlet by Galyorka (M. S. Olminsky) and Ryadovoi (A.
Bogdanov), Our Misunderstandings; =
2) a statement by V. D.
Bonch-Bruyevich concerning the start of publication of Bolshevik
Social-Democratic literature with a letter from Glebov (V. A. Noskov)
refusing to print this statement in the Party printing shop; and
3) a pamphlet by Galyorka, Down with Bonapartism! (Bonch–
Bruyevich s statement was printed on the last sheet of the pamphlet,
Our Misunderstandings, of the Geneva edition of 1904).

[4]Lenin and “Ilya” (I. S. Vilensky) who was in charge of the Party’s
printing shop discussed the conflict between Lenin and the
conciliatory majority of the Central Committee on who was to run
the Party’s printing shop at Geneva.

[5]The “agreement” on a joint solidarity statement abroad on
behalf of the Central Committee was concluded between Lenin and
V. A. Noskov, who came abroad as the C.C. representative abroad
and a second member of the Party Council. (He replaced F. V.
Lengnik, who returned to Russia.) The “agreement” was signed on
May 26 with the participation of M. M. Essen, a third member
of the C.C., who was abroad at the time (see present edition,
Vol. 7, pp. 430–31 and 426–29).

[6]A reference to Lenin’s letter to five members of the Central
Committee in Russia with his motivated protest against the C.C.’s
“July Declaration” (see present edition, Vol. 7, pp. 462–63).

July Declaration of the Central Committee—a resolution
adopted by the conciliatory members of the C.C., L. B. Krasin,
V. A. Noskov and L. Y. Galperin, in July 1904. It consisted of
26 points, nine of which were published in Iskra No. 72 of August
25, 1904, under the title “Declaration of the Central Committee”.
It was adopted without the knowledge of two C.C. members,
Lenin, who was in Switzerland, and Rozalia Zemlyachka,
which deprived them of the opportunity of standing up for the
views of the Party’s majority in the C.C. The declaration
recognised the Menshevik Editorial Board of Iskra, co-opted by
Plekhanov, and co-opted another three conciliatory members of the
C.C., namely, A. I. Lyubimov, L. Y. Karpov and I. F.
Dubrovinsky. The conciliators came out against the convocation of the
Party’s Third Congress and dissolved the C.C. Southern Bureau,
which had been campaigning for the Congress. They revoked Lenin’s
powers as C.C. representative abroad and prohibited the
publication of his works without the permission of the C.C. collegium.

The adoption of the July Declaration signified a total betrayal
of the decisions of the Party’s Second Congress by the
conciliatory members of the C.C. and their open backing of the Mensheviks.

Lenin was supported by the Party’s local committees—St.
Petersburg, Moscow, Riga, Baku, Tiflis, Imeretian-Mingrelian,
Nikolayev, Odessa and Yekaterinoslav—which resolutely
condemned the July Declaration.

[7]A reference to the “Letter to Central Committee Agents and
Committee Members of the R.S.D.L.P. Siding with the Second Party
Congress Majority” (see present edition, Vol. 7, pp. 464–65).

[8]
V. D. Bonch-Bruyevich managed to sign a contract with a
Russian co-operative printing shop in Geneva for publishing
Bolshevik literature following the virtual split between Lenin and the
literary group abroad, and the conciliatory Central Committee.

[9]A reference to the coup d’état in the Central Committee by its
three conciliatory members (V. A. Noskov, L. B. Krasin and
L. Y. Galperin) at the “July” sitting (see Note 160).